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January 28, 2010
Free Call! "Simple Success" Fundraising Plan Thursday, Feb 4 3 pm est http://getfullyfunded.info/where-is-sandy/free-teleseminars
Recent Blog Posts
Get SMART about Fundraising Goals
The How and Why of a Fundraising Plan
Upcoming Events April 13, 2010 Association of Fundraising Professionals, Baltimore, MD
AFP Dallas/Fort Worth Philanthropy Conference, Arlington, TX Looking for a speaker for your AFP meeting or fundraising day?
Connect with me!
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From Sandy Rees, Fundraising Coach |
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Welcome new subscribers! I’m so happy to have you in my virtual family! Sit back, put your feet up, and enjoy this issue of my newsletter.
How’s your new year going so far? Is it off to a BANG or limping along? I like it best when things go according to plan. Of course, if you don’t have a plan, it’s a problem. When I sat in the Development Director’s seat, I preferred to create and use a fundraising plan. I liked knowing what was coming up and what specific actions I needed to take to reach my goals for the year. It also made it easier for me to say “no” to things when I needed to. If you don’t have a plan for 2010, then read on. I’ve got a couple of articles in this issue to help you get started. And be sure to join me for a free teleseminar on Feb 4 as I share some of my best ideas and tips for fundraising planning.Happy Reading!
ps. This is totally unrelated to fundraising, but I just have to share! My youngest daughter is graduating in May and we found out this week that she’ll be graduating #14 in her class! Congratulations to my sweet, big-hearted Emily!!
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A Little Learning
Top Mistakes in Fundraising Plan |
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We all know how vital it is to have a fundraising plan. A good plan can be the difference between success and scraping by. Here are some common pitfalls to avoid as you create your roadmap for the year.
It’s one thing to have a list of goals, a set of deadlines and a stack of sticky notes full of ideas, but without a comprehensive plan containing goals, objectives, strategies, and deadlines, you are likely to forget what needs to happen. Whether it is written down or in a file on your computer (or both), having your fundraising plan in one place that you can refer to often is a great way to keep you on track to a successful year.
If your goal is to raise more money, gain more members or get more grants, then you are destined to fail. Why? Because without specific goals, you won’t know if you have succeeded, or worse, you won’t know what worked best and what needs to be tweaked. Your goals should be SMART; that is, they should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. Check out my blog article on SMART goals for more details on creating smart goals. http://getfullyfundedblog.com/get-smart-about-fundraising-goals
What good will a specific, written fundraising plan do if you sock it away and don’t look at it until the end of the year? No good (you already knew that, right?). Actually, I call this a “binder activity” – when you spend time doing something then stick it in a binder to collect dust. Be proactive and organized by adding all of your grants, direct mail, special events and communications deadlines on one calendar so you know what is due when. This also gives you a chance to see if there are opportunities to piggyback tasks and integrate campaigns to save yourself time and resources (example: sending out a newsletter a little earlier than normal so you can promote an upcoming event instead of sending out a separate mailing). Several years ago, I developed something I call a Summary Calendar to get all these dates in one place so I could see where the feasts and famines were. You can get a free copy of my Summary Calendar template at http://getfullyfunded.com/free-articles-forms-for-nonprofits. Once you get everything on the Summary Calendar, you can think about the resources you may need, like letterhead, envelopes and even volunteers, so you aren’t caught empty handed and tight on the budget.
Weekly, monthly and/or quarterly- how do you stay on track and make sure things are going as planned? It doesn’t do you any good to work hard to create a fundraising plan if you aren’t going to take the time to evaluate how things are going and course-correct if things aren’t going as planned. This may not be the most fun thing to do, but it is the most important. So, stealing from Nike, just do it! Reviewing your plan monthly is a great habit to get into, so you can stay on track for the year. I’ve coached literally hundreds of nonprofit organizations over the years and these are the top 4 the most common pitfalls I’ve seen when it comes to developing a fundraising plan. My deepest desire is that you’ll learn from these and be successful in creating a plan for your own fundraising success this year!
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Ask Sandy |
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Dear Sandy, I’m working on my organization’s first-ever fundraising plan. We’ve always been reactive to whatever came down the pike but this year, I want to shift into being more proactive so I can have more control over my fundraising activities. But I’m really struggling trying to project our revenue. Can you give me some pointers? Perplexed in Poughkeepsie Dear Perplexed, The first thing you need to do is look at your history. What fundraising strategies (like events, grants, direct mail, major gifts) have you used in the past couple of years and how much did you raise with each one. If you see a trend over the past few years that a particular grant has been received each year and you know of no reason why it won’t be received this year, then project that same amount of revenue. Likewise, if your big special event of the year has steadily grown over the past few years, it’s probably likely that it will at least hold its own or grow again this year. Don’t count on anything that was a one-shot deal last year. If you got a windfall from a particular donor or other source, be sure they plan to do it again before you budget the revenue this year. I prefer to be very conservative when I’m budgeting. Then it’s easier on me and everyone if particular revenue streams don’t produce as well this year. On the flip side, if I budget conservatively and things go well, you raised more than budget and now you have extra money! Cool, huh?Got a question for Sandy...Email it to sandy@sandyrees.com
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Getting Board buy-in for your plan |
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Okay, so you have created an awesome fundraising plan that includes direct mail Resist the temptation to distribute your fundraising plan with lots of details and no explanation. You may know why it is important to do a year-end direct mail appeal in November, but your board probably doesn’t. Give them enough information to get excited and want to participate, but not so much that they are tempted to micromanage. After all, you don’t want them telling you what kind of envelopes to use for your mailing! Also, think about who is on your Board. If your Board if full of business professionals, then talking numbers, return on investment and other “business” speak will make them more comfortable with your plan. Most importantly, be prepared to answer questions and be open to suggestions and comments from your Board. If you’re good, you might even offer them ways to participate in fundraising and help you during the year. This usually clinches the deal and leads to a unanimous approval of your plan!
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Resources from Sandy |
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If you need help with charity auctions, I invite you to check out Red Apple Auctions. My friend Sherry Truhlar is a professional auctioneer who specializes in fundraising auctions. Want more great fundraising info? My friend Pamela Grow has a new free report on how to stop losing donors. Check it out at www.simpledevelopmentsystems.com. |
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Please feel free to forward this ezine on to friends and colleagues who might enjoy it. Receive a forwarded copy? Get your own at getfullyfunded.com Website: getfullyfunded.com |
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Leadership Corner